Egg carton printer

ABSTRACT

The printing device for multicolor decorating the top of egg cartons or the like articles has a central blanket cylinder with four plate cylinders contacting it for transferring an inked image thereto, each one of the plate cylinders having its own inking device. An impression cylinder is arranged which has a saddle on a part of its circumference for supporting the cavernous top of the egg carton and pressing the top surface of it against the blanket cylinder for having the image which has been inked on the blanket cylinder, printed on it. Power-operated linkage mechanism for separating the plate cylinders from the blanket cylinder and for throwing off simultaneously the inking rollers of the inking devices is arranged.

, United States Patent I 154 act; CARTON PRINTER 1501 1 1616oiSenrch...;.,

[72] Inventor John C. lloveltamp [2i I Appl. No. 814,648

[22] Filed Apr. 9, 1969 [45] Patented July 27, 1971 [73] Assignee 5 Woodlndudries, Inc. I

' Plainfleld, NJ.

40mm, 11 Drawing Fi s,

52 u.s.c1. 101/37,

l0l/l77, 1011185, 101/218, 101/247, l0l/3Sl,

(5 1] Int. C l. "B411 "/16,

. B4lf 13/24 101/185, 184,182,247,140,139, 192, 209, 143-145, 218, 351',352, 357, 358, 284, 285, 137, 176, 177, 36,

' 1 -UNlTED sures PATENTS 819,375 -5/l906 ,Palmeretal.-..,.;..' l0l/l821,006,782 10/1911 1 66661181... 101/140 1,524,816v 2/1925 'Dalbyn".101/352 2,069,789 2/l937 V0IIwCbemfl3i Y 101/36 9/1953 Peyrebrune.101/352x 2,702,973 3/1955 Schilling 101/35 ux 2,764,933 lO/l956Hargrave.. 101/177x 2,819,670 1/1958 Newcomb'etal l01/l85X 3,083,6364/1963 Camila/1.... 101/37 3,103,877 9/1963 Manna.....-.. 101/353,282,202 11/1966 0161116131.. 101/37 3,314,214 4/1967 aim l0l /36X3,387,559 6/1968 .Homer l0l/378 ux FOREIGN PATENTS 416,289 7/1925Germany l0l/l82 475,147 11/1937 GreatBritain l0l/l84 PrimaryExaminer-Robert E. Pulfrey Assistant Examiner-Cliflord D. CrowderAttorney-Jennie, Edmonds, Morton, Taylor and Adams ABSTRACT: Theprinting device for multicolor decorating the top of egg cartons or thelike articles has a central blanket cylinder with four plate cylinderscontacting it for transferring an inked image thereto, each one of theplate cylinders having its own inking device. An impression cylinder isarranged which has a saddle on a part of its circumference forsupporting the cavernous top of the egg carton and pressing the topsurface of it against the blanket cylinder for having the image whichhas been inked onthe blanket cylinder, printed on it. Power-operatedlinkage mechanism for separating the plate cylinders from theblanketcylinder and for throwing off simultaneously the inking rollersof the inking devices is arranged.

PATENTEU JUL27 IQII 3. 595; 164

' SHEET 1 (IF 6 INVENTOR. Jmw 6 601475401 PATENTH] JUL27 lB/l S HEEI 2OF 6 INVENTOR.

Arrow/5r p PATENTED m2? I97l SHEEI 3 BF 6 ATENTEDJUL21 an sum 5 or 6INVENTOR. Jay/v d HOVZK'IMP ATTORNEY EGG CARTON PRINTER BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION The invention relates to multicolor printing devices andmore specifically to printing devices for special purposes suchasdecorating the top of cavernous packaging boxes, for example of eggcartons.

Printing devices exist for printing .indicia on objects which arenotflat as a sheet of paper, cardboard or metal, and particularly on theoutside of three-dimensional, hollow objects such as cardboard boxes orthe like objects which have not sufiicient resistance against crushing.Other marking" devices are known for stamping or printing of indicia onbox shaped packaging containers, on cylindrical parts .such as bottles,cans, tubes and on similar articles of the packaging industry. Themajority of these devices is manually operated and therefore not wellsuited for a large-scale mass production, particularly in view of therequirement for multicolor decorating of the outside of the packages.This is the problem involved in printing attractive and distinctiveindicia on the lids of egg cartons which are not very strong andcrushproof. The

I present invention of a new printing machine of this kind is directedto solving these problems SUMMARY The invention consists of such novelfeatures, construction arrangements, combination of parts andimprovements as may be shown and described in connection with theapparatus herein disclosed by way of example only and as illustrative ofa preferred embodimenLThe general idea of the invention is to present anew structure and combination of structural elements by which multicolordecorations are applied .to the outside surface of boxlike tops ofeggcartons by rotary printing.

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in parthereafter and in part will be obvious herefrom or may be learned bypracticing the invention, the same being realized and attained by meansof the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in the appendedclaims.

It is an object of the invention to provide a rotary'printing device forprinting indicia in colors in a continuous operation on the outsidesurface of the tops of egg cartons.

A further object of the invention is to provide rotatable support meansfor the egg cartons tops while the insignia are' printed thereon.

Another object of the invention is to provide an intermittentlyoperating conveyor system for feeding the egg cartons to the printingdevice where the carton is taken by the support means by which it itforwarded through the printing procedure during the dwell period of theconveyor.

Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a mechanism forthrowing off simultaneously all plate cylinders from the transfercylinder and all ink motion form rollers from the plate cylinderswithout changing the relative setting of the form rollers with respectto the plate cylinder.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a novel multicolorprinting machine in a continuously operating production line forproducing colorful decorations on the outside surface of the the top ofegg cartons, which is relatively uncomplicated, easy to operate and tomaintain.

Various further and more specific purposes, features and advantages willclearly appear from the detailed description given below taken inconnection with the accompanying drawing which forms part of thespecification and illustrates merely by way of example one embodiment ofthe device of the inventron.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING In the following description and in theclaims, parts will be identified by specific names for convenience, butsuch names are intended to be as generic in their application to similarparts as the art will permit. Like reference characters denote likeparts in the several figures of the drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 shown diagrammatically the general arrangement of the printingdevice; I

FIG. 2 shows the plate cylinder and form roller throwoff mechanism inthe "on" position;

FIG. 3 shows the plate cylinder and form roller mechanism in the ofposition;

FIG. 4 is an axial section of the plate cylinder and of one pertainingform roller;

FIG. 5 is a radial section of the plate cylinder shown in FIG. 4, takenalong the line 55;

FIG. 6 is a radial section ofthe plate cylinder shown in FIG. 4, takenalong the line 6-6; a

FIG. 7 is an axial section of the gear side part of the transfercylinder; partly broken away;

FIG. 8 is a radial section of the transfer cylinder shown in FIG. 7,taken along the line 8-8;

FIG. 9 is an axial section of the impression cylinder;

FIG. 10 is a radial section of the impression cylinder shown in FIG. 9,taken along the line 10-10.

FIG. 11 is an axial section of the operating side of the transfercylinder, partly broken away.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now in more detail tothe drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment by which the inventionmay be realized, there is a front frame 11 and a rear frame 12 whichsupport rotatably the various cylinders and ink motions of the printingmachine. Referring to FIG. 1 there is a centrally located transfercylinder 20, four printing plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33 arrangedaround it in contact relationship with transfer cylinder 20 and animpression cylinder 40 located below transfer cylinder 20, Conventionalink motions 50, 51, 52, 53 each having two form rollers 54, 55, forinking the printing plates of plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33, arearranged for supplying the ink to the form rollers. Conveyor chains 60carrying lugs 61 at regular intervals are arranged for transporting theegg cartons 62 to the printing machine and away from the same after theprinting had been completed. Egg cartons 62 are sliding over a supporttable 63. Leaf springs 64 are arranged above the path of egg cartons 62for holding the same down while they are printed.

Referring to FIGS. 4, 5, and 6, there is shown as a typical example oneof the plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33 and one of the two form rollers54, 55. The body of the plate cylinder is a hollow sleeve 34 which isfreely rotatable held on ball bearings 35 supported by a shaft 36. Theends 37, 37 of shaft 36 are eccentric with respect to bearings 35, andthey are rotatably supported by bushings 38, 38' which are located inframes 11, 12. Printing plate supports 39, 39' are fitted on sleeve 34and are secured thereon by the screws 131. On each side of supports 39,39 blocks 132, 132' are fastened on sleeve 34 for rotatably supportingthe mounting rods 133, 133 for the flexible printing plates 134. A rowof pins 135 is arranged on each one of mounting rods 133, 133 forholding plates 134 which have correspondingly arranged holes. Near theend of each one of rods 133, 133 is a plug 136 inserted therein whichextends radially thereof. A spring 137 abuts against plug 136 on oneside and an adjustment screw 138 abuts against the other side of plug136, for register setting and for tightening of printing plates 134 onplate supports 39, 39'. Rods 133, 133' are axially moveable againstspring 139 by setscrews 231 for lateral register setting of printingplates 134. A gear 232 is fixed on the drive side of the machine at theend of sleeve 34, which is part of the driving mechanisms of the machineand which engages the corresponding gears of the other cylinders. Formrollers 54, 55 are supported by the bars 233, 234, which are swingablymounted on shaft 36. Bars 233, 234, support shaft ends 235' in whichshaft ends 235 are located. A central shaft 236 extends between shaftends 235 which have bores in which the ends of shaft 236 are located.Since shaft ends 235 are eccentric with respect to central shaft 236 andto bearings 238, it is possible to adjust the position of the formroller to the printing plate on the corresponding plate cylinder. Formrollers 54, 55, consist of tubes 237 which are freely rotatable mountedby ball bearings 238 on shaft 236. A conventional roller covering 239consisting ofa resilient synthetic rubber is arranged on tubes 237extending over the area of printing plates 134.

Transfer cylinder is shown in more detail in FIGS. 7 and 8. The cylinderbody consists of a tubular member 21 into which the shaft ends 22, 22are pressed. Roller bearings 23, 23' into which shaft ends 22, 22' arepressed are supported by frames 11, 12. A gear 24 is attached to tubularmember 21 on the side of frame 12, meshing with gears 232 of printingplate cylinders 30, 31, 32, and 33. Transfer blanket bodies 25, 25 aremounted on tubular member 21, which receive the inked images from theprinting plates 134. Each one of bodies 25, 25' consists of twodisc-shaped sidewall plates 26, 26' which are firmly attached to tubularmember 21. Mantle plates 27, 27 are welded on sidewall plates 26, 26'.Two blanket shafts 28, 28 are rotatably located diametrically opposed toone another in bearing plates 29, ,29', which are attached to sidewallplates 26, 26'. Each one of blanket shafts 28, 28' has a plurality ofblanket holding pins 121, and another plurality of stationary pins 122is arranged in mantle plates 27, 27' for fastening the transfer blankets123. Each one of blanket shafts 28, 28', has also a ratchet wheel 124attached thereto which is engaged by a spring loaded releasable pawl125. The other end of the blanket shaft opposite to ratchet wheel 124 isshaped as a square end 126 so that transfer blankets 123 may be firmlytightened on bodies 25, 25 by using a wrench and may be secured in thetightened condition by ratchet 124 and pawl 125.

Impression cylinder 40 which is located below blanket transfer cylinder20, is shown in detail in FIGS. 9 and 10. The cylinder consists of abody 41 which is composed of several hollow tube parts, welded together,and of a solid stationary shaft 42. Body 41 is arranged to rotate freelyon ball bearings 43,43, which are located on shaft 42. A gear 44 isattached to body 41, meshing with the corresponding gear 24 on transfercylinder tubular member 21. Printing saddles 45, 45' are attached tobody 41 on locating studs 46, 46', by pins 47, 47'. Studs 46, 46' aresecured on body 41 by setscrews 48, 48. The shaft ends 49, 49' of shaft42 are eccentric with respect to ball bearings 43, 43 and are rotatablylocated by needle bearings 141, 141', in frames 11 and 12 respectively.A lever 142 is keyed on shaft end 49, on which a screw block 143 ispivotally mounted. A rod 144 having one threaded end 145 is rotatablyheld in a bracket 146 which is attached to frame 11. Threaded end 145 isscrewed into block 143, and a compression spring 147 is arranged on rod144, which abuts against bracket 146 with one end and against theturnbuckle 148 with the other end, urging lever 142 in acounterclockwise direction of rotation as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2. Byadjusting rod 144 by threading end 145 in or out of block 143, eccentricends 49, 49' are rotated and the position of body 41 and printingsaddles 45, 45' are adjusted away or against, respectively, transfercylinder 20 for setting the necessary printing pressure according to thethickness of the carton to be printed.

A throwoff device for plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33 and for theircorresponding form rollers 54,55, respectively, is shown on FIGS. 2 inthe "on" position and in FIG. 3 in the OFF" position. The throwoffdevice serves the purpose of separating simultaneously the printingsurfaces of plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33, from the correspondingsurfaces of transfer cylinder 20 and of moving form rollers 54,55 awayfrom printing plates 134 on plate cylinders 30, 31, 32, 33. A lever 13is rotatably located on a bracket 14 which is attached to the outside offrame 11 in such a manner that the center of rotation of lever 13coincides with the center oftransfer cylinder 20. (FIG. 11). However,lever 13 has no connection with shaft end 22' of transfer cylinder 20.Lever 13 has a circular center plate 15 on which four bars 16 arearticulated. Each one of bars 16 is linked on a lever 17 which isclamped on eccentric end 37 of shaft 36. A lever 56 is clamped on eachof the eccentric ends 235 of central shafts 236 of form rollers 237.Levers 56 are linked in pairs by connecting bars 19 to levers 17 in suchmanner that the levers 56 of the two form roller shafts 235 are linkedto the lever 17 of the shaft 36 of the plate cylinder 30, 31, 32, 33,respectively, to which the corresponding form rollers belong. (See FIGS.2 and 3) Since form roller shafts 236 are thus linked with bracket 17 ofthe plate cylinders, the throwoff mechanism will always return them tothe originally set position on the printing plate after they had beenthrown off for operational reasons such as changing of plates, changingof ink of the like work. The piston rod 18 of fluid power cylinder 57 isarticulated at the end oflever 13. Power cylinder 57 is swinginglyfoot-mounted on a bracket 58 which is fixed on frame 11. A bracket 59 isattached to frame 11 in such a position that a setscrew 68 of thisbracket can be set in the path of lever 13 for limiting the strokethereof.

THE OPERATION OF THE PRINTING machine With the plate cylinders and theform rollers in the OFF" position, flexible printing plates 134 areclamped on the plate cylinders and, if necessary, printing blankets 123are changed or renewed, whatever the case may be. After the variouscolors have been set in proper register, conveyor chains 60 are set insuch manner that the egg cartons are pushed forward by lugs 61 to thepoint where the front edge ofprinting saddles 45 engages precisely theinner front corner of the egg carton cover. At this point the conveyorchains stop and printing saddles 45, 45 carry the egg cartons forwardthrough the printing operation period. The dwell period of the conveyormovement is timed in such manner that the conveyors start again when therear end of saddles 45, 45 have approached the inner rear comer of theegg carton cover, so that they can continue forwarding the printedcartons to the next following operation, for example to a stacketdelivery.

While the invention has been described and illustrated with respect to acertain preferred example which gives satisfactory results, it will beunderstood by those skilled in the art after understanding the principleof the invention, that various other changes and modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. A printing device for applying decorative indicia to the tops of eggcartons or like hollow articles in a plurality of colors, said devicehaving a plurality of printing plate carrying cylinders, a correspondingplurality of ink motions each having a form roller for applying ink to aplate cylinder, a central transfer cylinder adapted to contact saidplate cylinder, said transfer cylinder having at least one printingblanket fastened thereon for receiving said indicia from said pluralityof plate cylinders, and a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating withsaid transfer cylinder; said impression cylinder comprising at least onecircumferentially extending impression saddle having a frontcircumferential edge and a rear circumferential edge, said saddleadapted to support and engage the inside of said hollow articles to movesaid articles past said transfer cylinder as said impression cylinder isrotated, and an intermittently moving article carrying conveyor forintermittently forwarding said articles to said impression cylinder forengagement by said impression saddle.

2. A printing device for applying decorative indicia to the tops of eggcanons according to claim 1, said printing plate carrying cylindershaving in addition flexible printing plate supports interchangeablyfastened thereon and spring-loaded means for mounting said flexibleprinting plates thereon.

each of said printing plate cylinders with the corresponding throwoffmeans of said form roller for separating said plate cylinders from theircorresponding form rollers in such manner that the original adjustmentsetting of said form rollers relative to their corresponding printingplate cylinders is maintained.

1. A printing device for applying decorative indicia to the tops of eggcartons or like hollow articles in a plurality of colors, said devicehaving a plurality of printing plate carrying cylinders, a correspondingplurality of ink motions each having a form roller for applying ink to aplate cylinder, a central transfer cylinder adapted to contact saidplate cylinder, said transfer cylinder having at least one printingblanket fastened thereon for receiving said indicia from said pluralityof plate cylinders, and a rotatable impression cylinder cooperating withsaid transfer cylinder; said impression cylinder comprising at least onecircumferentially extending impression saddle having a frontcircumferential edge and a rear circumferential edge, said saddleadapted to support and engage the inside of said hollow articles to movesaid articles past said transfer cylinder as said impression cylinder isrotated, and an intermittently moving article carrying conveyor forintermittently forwarding said articles to said impression cylinder forengagement by said impression saddle.
 2. A printing device for applyingdecorative indicia to the tops of egg cartons according to claim 1, saidprinting plate carrying cylinders having in addition flexible printingplate supports interchangeably fastened thereon and spring-loaded meansfor mounting said flexible printing plates thereon.
 3. A printing devicefor applying decorative indicia to the tops of egg cartons according toclaim 2 having in addition power-operated throwoff means for separatingsimultaneously all said printing plate cylinders from said transfercylinder and all said form rollers from said printing plate cylinders.4. A printing device for applying decorative indicia to the tops of eggcartons according to claim 3, said throwoff means comprising linkagebars connecting the throwoff means of each of said printing platecylinders with the corresponding throwoff means of said form roller forseparating said plate cylinders from their corresponding form rollers insuch manner that the original adjustment setting of said form rollersrelative to their corresponding printing plate cylinders is maintained.